South Yemen national football team

The South Yemen national football team was the national team of South Yemen between 1965 and 1989. It took part in the Asian Cup finals in 1976, losing 0-8 to Iran and 0-1 to Iraq. They entered their only World Cup qualification campaign, for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and were knocked out in the first round by Bahrain.

The team ceased to exist when the country united with North Yemen in 1990 to form the modern country of Yemen. See the article Yemen national football team for details after 1990.

Debut

South Yemen made its international football debut on 2 September 1965 at the 1965 Pan Arab Games in Cairo, Egypt. They played the hosts (who played as the United Arab Republic) in the first game and lost 14-0. This was their largest defeat without scoring a goal in reply. South Yemen lost all three other games in the group: 9-0 to Sudan, 1-0 to Palestine and then 4-3 to Lebanon. South Yemen did not play another game until 10 January 1972 when they lost a home friendly 4-1 to Algeria.^[1]

1986 World Cup qualification

South Yemen competed in qualification for the only time for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. They were placed in Group 4 of Zone A in the First Round against Iran and Bahrain. Iran was disqualified before the games were played, due to refusal to move their games to neutral grounds away from the Iran-Iraq War. South Yemen hosted Bahrain on 12 March 1985 and lost 4-1 in Mortayer Yard (now 22 May Stadium, Aden. On 12 April they drew 3-3 at the Bahrain National Stadium in Manama after leading 3-1. This saw Bahrain advance through.

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1962 - Did not exist
• 1966 to 1982 - Did not enter
• 1986 - Did not qualify
• 1990 - Withdrew

Asian Cup record

• 1956 to 1972 - Did not enter
• 1976 - Round 1
• 1980 to 1984 - Did not enter
• 1988 - Did not qualify

Other tournaments

References